The AI Gold Rush · field steps

Step 5 of 6 · The field card

Six questions before code. No score.

A score like "83 out of 100" means nothing for an idea nobody has bought. Here you mark each question supported, unknown or red flag, and get one word back: TEST, REPOSITION or KILL.

Pick "Unknown" when you have no evidence. Each unknown becomes one test for this week.

The one idea

"Value divided by effort" is the wrong sum. Effort is easy to fake and says nothing about who pays. A tool that makes one step faster, for a weak pain, loses to a dull done-for-you service when the buyer is ready to pay.

Pain Relief Who pays Intent timing Keepable margin Floor risk —
Each dot colours in as you answer: green supported, grey unknown, red for a red flag. The middle word is the decision, not an average.

Your field card

Mark each question with the evidence you actually hold.

PainWhat happens if they do nothing? A deadline, lost sales, rework, embarrassment, or mild inconvenience?A severe problem once a year is not the same as a moderate one every morning. Mark which one yours is.
ReliefDo you give a faster shovel (one step gets easier) or done-for-you (the agreed job is finished)?Done-for-you adds support work and liability. Count both.
Who paysWho hurts, who holds the budget, and can you reach them? Write the payer's country and currency too."Global" is not an answer. Name one payer you can actually collect from.
Intent timingCreate a new wish, catch someone already about to buy, or ride a capability that just got cheap?Catching people already set on buying (standing at the till) has the best odds in the research.
Keepable marginAfter model calls and retries, hosting, fees, refunds, getting customers and support, is enough left?Use your step 2 number.
Floor riskIf a free tool or default button did this job tomorrow, would they still pay you?Use your step 1 and step 4 answers.

Your decision

BLANK

Your six questions, as one paragraph

If Step 3 or 4 said a free tool could replace you, the best you'll get here is REPOSITION. TEST means attach one small, bounded paid offer. REPOSITION means change the job, the moment or the price first. KILL means stop or rethink before you spend more.

This week

DoFind one piece of evidence for each question. Turn every "unknown" into a customer test or a cost check.
Don'tReplace an unknown margin with "7.8 out of 10".
Kill ifAny box above is ticked, the pain is a red flag, no payer can be reached, or you've talked to buyers and three or more are still unknown.

You now have: